Zack
de la Rocha
Band Members Biography
R.A.T.M History
What does Rage against the Machine mean? Well, the actual phrase was originally going to be the name of Inside Out (Zack's first band)'s second album. When Inside Out broke up, Rage against the Machine was later formed. They felt the name would appropriate for the extreme politics being put forth, and the method in which they were. Some of you might be asking "what machine are they raging against?". According to Tom Morello: "The machine can be anything from the police in the streets in Los Angeles who can tear motorists from their car and beat the to a pulp and get away from it, to the overall international state capitalist machinery that tries to make you just a mindless cog, and not to think critically and never confront the system , and to just sortof "behave" and look forward to the next weekend and next six pack of beer."
The Story so far...
The first meetings of the members of Rage against the machine was when Zack de la Rocha met Tim Commerford (Timmy C., Tim Bob) while Zack was in 5th grade, and Tim was in 6th. They met when Zack taught Tim how to rip off food from the college cafeteria. They were friends after that, where Zack introduced Tim to the bass, which he plays in the band. Tom Morello first met Zack when he saw him rapping with some of his friends at a club, but the PA was so bad, he didn't get the full magnitude of Zack's feelings. Later when Tom looked through his lyric book, he realized what Zack was really about. Now Tom knew Brad Wilk previously, because Brad responded to an ad in the paper that Tom put out. The four of them got together, and decided to try to make a little bit of music...
The band's first "gig" was in the living room of one of Tim's friends in Huntington Beach, CA. The band played only 5 and 1/2 songs that they had written, but the audience made them repeat them. After that they decided that they had something going for themselves. They then, with their own money, went into a recording studio, and completed a 12 track cassette on their own that sold 5,000 copies at clubs, and live shows. These are now famous demos, which include songs that appear on the debut album. (Bullet in the Head on the album was taken directly from those demos). The band supported Porno For Pyros on their first performance and played their first two shows on the second stage of Lollapalooza II, in L.A., California. They then signed onto Epic after a scout saw them play, and they started recording "Rage Against the Machine". They began their first European tour with Suidical Tendancies, until October of '92. Rage Against the Machine was released on Epic, which remained the Billboard top 200 chart for 89 weeks. After that they went on tour, where they did several benefit concerts for Mumia Abu-Jamal, Leonard Peltier, Anti-Nazi league and the "Rock for Choice" benefit. In '93, they appeared at Lollapalooza again, but in Philidelphia, the created a protest against censorship, and the PMRC, by standing on stage completely naked for a total of exactly 14 minutes, with the bass and guitar feedback just buzzing. They put duct tape over their mouths, and the letters, "P" "M" "R" "C" written on the four band members chests. Tom said, "It was to show that if the fans didn't take matters into their own hands, they wouldn't be able to see bands like us." According to Tom, it wasn't really a "feel good" protest. It was to wake people up to reality.
In December of 93, they released the "Freedom" video, which was in supporting of Leonard Peltier. It combined live performance footage with scenes from the 1992 documentary, "Incident At Oglala" and text from Peter Matthiessens's "In the Spirit of Crazy Horse". It becomes the #1 video in the USA. They continued touring for a while longer, while Zack became interested in the Zapatista movement in Chiapas, Mexico. The band was put in Atlanta to make a new album, but that is where tensions really rised. Zack would leave without notice for several weeks to Chiapas, while the other band members were kindof on their own. They finally decided to get going, and they rented the room across from one of their apartments in L.A. With cords running between hallways, they started making Evil Empire. On 4-13-96, Rage appeared on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" where their performance is cut short after the first song when Brenden Obrien (producer) attempted to hang inverted American Flags on the amplifiers, due to having presidential candidate Steve Forbes as guest host that night. The next day, the Bulls on Parade video was released on Mtv. Two days after that, Evil Empire is released, Rage's second album. Rage played a free concert at California State University while Evil Empire entered Billboard Top 200 at #1, knocking down Alanis Morisette's, "Jagged Little Pill". Rage toured the U.S. in the spring and summer of '96. The People of the Sun video was released, and censored on Mtv for violent content (reality). On Jan. 20, 1997, Tom Morello hosts the Radio Free LA broadcast, over the internet, and on the radio in selected cities. Zack, Tom, Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Steven Perkins from Porno for Pyros play a short set, as widely known political individuals are interviewed and issues brought to light. Rage starts their 1997 tour once again, touring with U2 in a variety of cities. All profits earned from these concerts goes directly to support political and social organizations. After that tour, Rage hooks up with the Wu-Tang Clan to head a huge world tour. Tom Morello teams up with The Prodigy, and they create a song entitled "One Man Army", that will appear on the Spawn soundtrack. Rage releases a new homevideo on November 25th entitled "Rage Against the Machine" which contains live footage throughout their careers, and also the uncensored version of all 5 of their music videos. "The Ghost of Tom Joad" video is released, which is a cover of a Bruce Springsteen song. Tom Morello is arrested for protest Guess jeans with 30 others in a mall, while Zack de la Rocha speaks out against the Acteal massacre of 45 innocent women, children, and men in Chiapas, Mexico. Tom Morello is planned for a Perry Farewell collaboration, as well as creating a new song for the Godzilla soundtrack entitled "American Eyes" with the rest of the band.
